Ewing's sarcoma and related subtypes of primitive neuroectodermal tumours share a recurrent and specific t(11;22) (q24;q12) chromosome translocation, the breakpoints of which have recently been cloned. Phylogenetically conserved restriction fragments in the vicinity of EWSR1 and EWSR2, the genomic regions where the breakpoints of chromosome 22 and chromosome 11 are, respectively, have allowed identification of transcribed sequences from these regions and has indicated that a hybrid transcript might be generated by the translocation. Here we use these fragments to screen human complementary DNA libraries to show that the translocation alters the open reading frame of an expressed gene on chromosome 22 gene by substituting a sequence encoding a putative RNA-binding domain for that of the DNA-binding domain of the human homologue of murine Fli-1.

Neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2) is a monogenic dominantly inherited disease predisposing carriers to develop nervous system tumours. To identify the genetic defect, the region between two flanking polymorphic markers on chromosome 22 was cloned and several genes identified. One is the site of germ-line mutations in NF2 patients and of somatic mutations in NF2-related tumours. Its deduced product has homology with proteins at the plasma membrane and cytoskeleton interface, a previously unknown site of action of tumour suppressor genes in humans.

There has been marked progress in our understanding of the role of natural killer (NK) cells in immune responses, mainly due to the identification of NK-cell receptors and their ligands. The genes encoding many NK-cell receptors are located in the NK-gene complex (NKC). Here, we review the properties of NKC-encoded receptors, and provide a genomic and conceptual framework for an insight into NK-cell function and biology.